Astrophysics: Weighing in on neutron stars
Nature, 467 (7319):
1057--1058 (Oct 27, 2010)DOI: 10.1038/4671057a
Abstract
The more massive a neutron star is, the greater the constraints it places on the nature of the matter at its core. The discovery of a new mass record holder has strengthened those constraints considerably. See Letter p.1081 Large mass is a touchy subject among humans, but for neutron stars it is greatly desirable. This is because high mass places strong constraints on the matter in these stars' cores, which exists in a state that cannot be probed in laboratories and could be dominated by anything from neutrons and protons to exotica (such as quark matter that is not confined inside nuclei, hyperons or condensates).